Former Yes star Rick Wakeman predicts record shop revival on our high streets as vinyl sales surge: World renowned pianist Rick Wakeman has predicted a revival of traditional music shops after vinyl sales started to outpace music downloads. The former keyboard player with rock band Yes said the shift could benefit young and emerging artists. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Saturday, the writer and musician, 67, said: “The music scene is completely different…it has changed, some things for the better. “There is much more access to music but we have lost our wonderful record shops and communal spaces. “But I think they will come back because vinyl is outselling downloads…I think that will be a great thing for young bands as well.”
In Massachusetts towns, people seek vinyl records and vintage collectibles: With music from artists like The Beatles, The Monkees or George Harrison playing in the background, some might feel like they took a step out of 2017 and into the past when they walk into The Nevermind Shop. Vintage collectibles in glass cases, shrink-wrapped vintage promotional posters leaning against the walls, and vinyl records grouped by genre. In the new age, where we digitally stream music from apps like Spotify, iTunes and Pandora, one might wonder how record stores like Nevermind continue to survive during these times.
Vinyl paying off for Ukranian transplant: For Dmitrii Berezovich of Sveglovoesk, Ukraine, the word lottery has a lot greater meaning than choosing lucky numbers and winning big money. It means he can pursue his dreams as a United States citizen right here in Ashland. Berezovich has lived in Ashland since 2008, and on Nov. 17, he opened Retropositive, a thrift store specializing in old vinyl records. “I wanted to open a store for almost two years, but I couldn’t find the insurance, the location and price, plus I didn’t have as much inventory. I had to take a little bit of time,” Berezovich said. He found the ideal location in the heart of South Ashland at 2040 29th St.
Local resale shop witnessing resurgence of vinyl: In an aging, cinder-block building on East Fourth Avenue topped by a large U-Haul sign, Gene Compton is experiencing an unexpected resurgence of sorts. “I was shocked,” Compton said. “But it was a pleasant surprise.” Compton is referring to a growing interest in the resale of vinyl record albums and related 1970s and ’80s era stereo equipment that he’s witnessed at Dexter’s Exchange, a sparingly decorated space at 529 E. Fourth Ave. that he and partner RaeLynn Summers operate. Looking for something to do in the building besides lease U-Haul trucks, Compton, 60, dragged in a dozen plastic crates filled with some of the few thousand long-playing albums he has collected over the years and began offering them for sale.
Toronto’s Microforum gives vinyl a fresh spin, opens new record pressing plant: Less than a month after Canada’s last vinyl pressing plant shut its doors in Calgary, another has sprung up to supply the resurgent industry with “warm-sounding” records made on new, automated presses. Toronto manufacturer Microforum Services Group, which has been producing CDs, DVDs and other optical media for more than 15 years, looked to turn back the clock last week, officially inaugurating two new vinyl production lines Jan. 20. “We’ve got the infrastructure and the contacts and it just seemed like a great fit and a good way to grow our business,” Noble Musa, the company’s vice-president of Sales and Marketing, said.
In 2016 cassette tape sales nearly doubled since the previous year. Could it catch up with vinyl? With the glorious expectation that vinyl will be making a fruitful comeback in 2017, it seems that the retro audio format’s little sibling, the cassette, wants to join in. In 2016, cassette sales in the US made a uprising resurgence, almost doubling since the previous year. Compared to vinyl, which made a record breaking 3 million sales in the UK alone, in 2016 129,000 cassettes were sold as opposed to 74,000 in 2015. While the actual number of transactions is mere, a surprising increase suggests a new trend in an audio recording device that was thought to be long dead.
